Disinfecting appliance.



Patented Dct. 3|, I899.

m. ELB. DISINFEGTING APPLIANCE.

witness: m 7% 40/ Man 2404 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAX ELB, OF DRESDEN, GERMANY.

DISIINFECTING APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 636,027, dated. October31, 1899.

Application filed March 7, 1898.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAX ELB, a subject of the King of Saxony, and aresident of Dresden, in the Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Disinfecting Apparatus,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved disinfecting apparatus composed ofcarbon with nitrates of the alkali metals and trioxymethylene which isvolatilized whereby the same is decomposed into monooxymethylene orformic aldehyde, and this gas, as is well known, possesses strongdisinfecting properties. The principal features of my improvementsconsist in the employment of. solid polymeric products, preferably incompressed shape, and bringing these in direct contact with a mass, setaglow, which generate a gentle heat. Such a mass is obtained, forinstance, by compounding carbon or carbonaceous matter with nitrates,preferably the nitrates of the alkali metals, so that the carbon isuniformly impregnated therewith. From this mixture I prepare a plasticmass, out of which I form vessels of such shape as will correspond tothe form of the compressed trioxymethylene. These vessels are completelydried, and when one is set aglow then the compressed trioxymethylenejorinstance, in form of a tablet, is placed therein and vola-, tilized.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents in section a vesselmade of a mass to be set aglow and a tablet contained therein. Fig. 2shows in section a compound tablet.

In Fig. 1, V designates the Vessel, and F the tablet. The compoundtablet shown in Fig.

2 consists of an inner portion or core consisting of trioxymethylene Fand the outside portion G, made of the composition to be set aglow.Candles containing a wick or core of compressed trioxymethylene maylikewise Serial No. 673,429. (No model.)

be manufactured. In this instance the mass surrounding the core is setaglow.

If a speedy distribution of the gaseous formic aldehyde produced by thevolatilization of the trioxymethylene is desired, then I add to the massto be set aglow some substance which is decomposed by gentle heat and atthe same time generates aninoffensive and harmless gas. The gas thusproduced accelerates the distribution of the gaseous formic aldehyde.The heat developed by the mass set aglow must be high enough to vaporizethe trioxymethylene, but must not be so high as to ignite the vapors.

If tablets are employed, then the shape of the vessel made of the massto be set aglow should conform in shape and size closely to the size ofthe tablet. Especially the walls of the vessel should be so high thatthey extend over the top of the tablet. In this man-' ner the heat isretained in the vessel and some draft produced.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. An appliance for disinfecting, composed of avessel made of carbon and nitrate of an alkali metal and compressedpolymeric methylaldeliyde contained therein and conforming in shape tothe side walls of the vessel, as specified.

2. An appliance for disinfecting, composed of an inner portion or coreof polymeric methylaldehyde and a surrounding body consisting of carbonand nitrate of an alkali metal, as specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twowitnesses.

MAX ELB.

Witnesses:

FRITZ SPERLI'NG, CHAS. H. DAY.

